Mormon Discussion Podcast

In todays Episode Jonathan Streeter fills in for Bill Reel and takes RFM on a journey discussing the first miracle in Mormonism. They discuss the role that Demonic possessions and exorcisms play in religion generally and how such things have influenced Mormonism specifically. The post MORMONISM LIVE !: 010: Demonic Possession, Exorcism, and Mormonism appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today I sit down with two brothers, Samuel & Joseph.  Both of these two brothers know the issues.  They both have gone down the rabbit hole of Mormonism seeing its messiness and complexity.  Having gone down the rabbit hole they came out different sides.  Joe’s faith, once strong and both feet in, dissolved and vanished away as he left the Church and navigated the hard path out of the Church and making a new life and a happy one at that.  Sam on the other hand, while agreeing with much of what the critic has to say, has continued to stay seeing value in continued practice and activity and faith that Mormonism can still be and become an inspiring place to be part of community, to raise a family, and to do God’s work.  The most profound part of this conversation is the love and vulnerability these two brothers share with each other, honoring each others path and validating the position that the other has arrived at.  Maybe, there is something each of us can learn from these two incredible men as they seek to set aside faith positions and simply love each other as brothers making space for each other to show up as they are with no expectation of what that should look like. The post Mormon Discussion: 358: Two Brothers Two Paths appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Moroni 7:27 asks Has the day of Miracles Ceased? The answer in the scriptures is nay. Yet What happens when we take a look at what LDS Leaders suggest as the miracles that are happening. We use two Sound clips at the backdrop of todays discussion. One is David Bednar’s recent BYU devotional where Elder Bednar imposes that miracles are happening today just as in days of old and gives us 8 quotes that are supposed to be evidence of the miracles except there aren’t any…. unless you are counting smiles, hours served, phones answered, and a person was were they were supposed to be.  The second clip revolves around Wendy Nelson informing us that President Nelson was prompted prior to Covid in 2020 to cancel all of their bookings for the year.  But when this “miracle” is examined it seems to contain deep factual problems and negative theological ramifications. RESOURCES: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng https://youtu.be/Az6-7yzZOLs?t=1 https://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2021-01-05/sister-wendy-nelson-sheri-dew-president-nelson-prophet-three-years-201007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3yRp2C7BN8&fbclid=IwAR07EbuLdC4cgIibxrFlAruDHq7TuvqkinwLO3eKB_Th6reMy-GHct93fd8 www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAt4Od0teNg&fbclid=IwAR35-eQ-732TcFVmpQeXAceXtYTZ6MycK378lzYfqqiOBow4Vq7M-70DwWc www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZ4JaCOIL8&fbclid=IwAR27aNOPG308McVU-E5-TaaZiizQddoIXCh3h6cA6kp0QVQlzRJ9HND8HdQ The post MORMONISM LIVE !: 009: Elder David Bednar & Wendy Nelson, Has The Day Of Miracles Ceased? appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Today we sit down with Dr. Darrel Ray and Shane Larsen and talk to them about the organization “Recovering From Religion“.  We talk with Dr. Ray about how this organization got started, his two books “God Virus” and “Sex & God“.  We ask Shane about how he went from a Mormon to volunteering and organizing a local chapter of RFR in Salt Lake City, Utah.  and Then we talk to both of them about the need for such organizations and support to those leaving religion and recovering from the trauma and shame.  We discuss the resources RFR provides and how others can find them. RESOURCES: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ https://www.meetup.com/rfr-salt-lake-city-ut/Meetup RFR Salt Lake City Group –  https://www.amazon.com/Sex-God-Religion-Distorts-Sexuality/dp/0970950543https://www.amazon.com/God-Virus-Religion-Infects-Culture/dp/0970950519 https://www.amazon.com/God-Virus-Religion-Infects-Culture/dp/0970950519   The post Mormon Discussion: 357: Recovering From Religion appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

We once again develop this weeks episode around Director of the Church History Library, Keith Erekson. Except this time we address his expertise as a hoax expert. No Seriously, this guy is one of the worlds experts on discerning hoaxes. He has written articles, given presentations, and taught in academia about such helping people for years to to discern and deconstruct hoaxes. But catch this….. he has been unable to apply those same tools to his religious beliefs and that is the topic for tonight’s episodeRESOURCES: https://www.keitherekson.com/2020/03/how-to-detect-a-hoax/https://www.keitherekson.com/2020/03/how-to-analyze-a-hoax/https://www.keitherekson.com/2021/01/how-to-talk-about-rumors-and-conspiracy-theories/ The post MORMONISM LIVE !: 008: Keith Erekson Hoax Expert appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Tonight RFM and Bill Reel take a look at how Director of the Church History Library, Keith A. Erekson, frames apologetics, inoculation, and publicly frames the criticisms of the Church. What tone does he use? What approach does he take with the critic and their criticisms? What approach does he take with the issues? How does he interact with the members of the Church in terms of transparency? Vulnerability? Honesty? and Forthrightness? Is this an improvement or is it a deeper layer of deception? We do this by examining his recent Fireside w/ multiple stakes published on the Fredrickson Stake Youtube ChannelKeith Erekson is the head of the vaults where historical items are saved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his two assistants are the only folks with unfettered access to these archives and storage. The post MORMONISM LIVE !: 007: Keith Erekson – Analysis of the Director of the Church History Library appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

RFM and Bill Reel take a look at the December 2020 Changes to the General Handbook of Instruction within the LDS Church. This Second part starts with a special Guest, Wendi Wilcock Jensen, as we dive into the handbook section on Energy Work. From there we discuss the changes involving Transgender people, Changes on the approach to abuse, a new section on Prejudice, and then we conclude with The new section on seeking reliable information and use a soundbite from a Mormonland Podcast interview to show that it is actually the LDS Church that is unreliable, non-credible, and deceptive. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/title-page?lang=eng Soundbite parody in the voice of Gordon Bitner Hinckley at the beginning is from the TikTok artist Mitch Shira also under the name “genie_man”. Please Check out his work !!! The post Mormonism LIVE !: 006: LDS Handbook Changes December 2020 Part 2 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

RFM and Bill Reel take a look at the December 2020 Changes to the General Handbook of Instruction within the LDS Church. There is a major bombshell in this episode dealing with the hierarchy of doctrine when comparing the handbook with the teachings of the living prophets and the holy scriptures.https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook/title-page?lang=eng The post Mormonism LIVE !: 005: LDS Handbook Changes December 2020 appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Mormon Apologists have forever pointed out that one criticism of Mormon Truth claims is Joseph Smith’s use of the female name Alma for a male’s name.   After citing the criticism, Mormon Apologists immediately follow up with evidence of Alma’s use as a Male name in the ancient eastern world. But is this really an argument being made that deserves a rebuttal? Was Alma really only a female name in Joseph Smith’s day? Did he know any male Alma’s? And are LDS Leaders and Apologists honest around this issue? That and more and your phone calls on this episode of Mormonism LIVE ! The post Mormonism LIVE !: 004: The Rise And Fall of Alma as Apologetic appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.

Using the recent Atlantic Magazine Article about Mormonism which includes an interview with Russel M. Nelson, President of The LDS Church as a springboard, RFM and Bill will have a light and entertaining conversation about the Changes that have taken place under the Leadership of Russel M. Nelson and some thoughts about where Mormonism could be headed in the near future.Atlantic Magazine Article Linkhttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/the-most-american-religion/617263/ The post Mormonism LIVE !: 003: The Changing Landscape of Mormonism under President Nelson appeared first on Mormon Discussion by Bill Reel.